Brussels farmers stage tractor blockade in protest against Ukrainian imports

Farmers are protesting in Brussels near the EU headquarters. The buildings in the European quarter were surrounded by barbed wire to prevent protesters from breaking into the place where agricultural ministers were meeting.

Reuters and Bloomberg write about this.

EU Ministers of agriculture are discussing the situation in the agricultural sector and farmers' protests in Brussels on Monday.

It is noted that the ministers plan to exchange ideas "regarding a quick and structural response to the crisis in the agrarian sector."

They will also discuss:

• proposals of the European Commission to further ease the burden on farmers and reduce their administrative costs,
• providing more support to small farms,
• organization of the common market of agricultural products.

As reported, farm protests have been happening in many EU countries for several weeks. They are protesting environmental regulations, subsidy cuts, and bureaucracy.

On February 26, they were also scheduled to demonstrate in the European Quarter of Brussels.

So, the streets of Brussels were blocked by about 900 tractors, and protesters set fire to tires and threw eggs and bottles.

The police used water cannons and surrounded the building where the meeting of the agricultural ministers of the member countries was taking place.

The area around this building was littered with hay, barley, and burning tires.

Farmers cite the following as the reason for the protest:

• bureaucratic obstacles,
• climate policy of the EU,
• import of agricultural products from Ukraine.

Currently, agriculture ministers are in talks concerning EU proposals aimed at improving the conditions of farmers. More specifically, they are considering measures to decrease the frequency of farm inspections and potentially excuse small farms from certain environmental regulations.

In addition, some of the ministers and the EU Commissioner for Agriculture, Janusz Wojciechowski, plan to meet with representatives of the protesters to discuss their problems.

For reference:

As Rubryka reported, Polish farmers are blocking roads near the checkpoints with Ukraine, planning to continue the protest for another month – until April. They also do not rule out that they will start blocking passenger traffic between Ukraine and Poland, particularly buses.

The Polish government wants to intensify inspections of goods exported from Ukraine and has announced increased control at the border.